Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill laid before Parliament

The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 19 February. This blog is a follow up to our previous blog which was published when the Bill was first announced by the Scottish Government and will consider the Bill in further detail.

There are four substantive legislative changes contained within the Bill as follows:-

• Part 1 deals with setting targets in relation to protecting and improving biodiversity.
• Part 2 confers powers on the Scottish Ministers to enable them to make changes to legislation dealing with environmental impact assessments ("EIA") and habitats.
• Part 3 relates to National Parks.
• Part 4 relates to deer management and implements recommendations of the Deer Working Group ("DWG") which was established by the Scottish Government in 2017.

Biodiversity targets

As anticipated in our previous blog, the main focus of the Bill is to set binding statutory targets to improve biodiversity in Scotland. In its current form, the Bill places a series of duties on the Scottish Ministers, with the primary duty being to set targets in connection with nature restoration for the purpose of "supporting and measuring implementation of the biodiversity strategy." The strategy is contained within the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.

Whilst the Bill contains an obligation on the Scottish Ministers to set targets, the detail of the targets will be set out in secondary legislation to follow once the Bill becomes law. By leaving targets to be set in secondary legislation, the stated intention is to allow greater scope for targets to be refined and adjusted in light of experience.

Once targets are set, the Bill provides that the Scottish Ministers must regularly report on progress against the targets, preparing a report not less than once every three years and at least once every ten years carrying out a review and report on the suitability of the targets set.

Environmental Standards Scotland will act as an independent review body in relation to the targets, providing quality assurance around the reports to be prepared by the Scottish Ministers and the process to be followed by the Scottish Ministers in connection with obtaining scientific advice.

EIA legislation and habitats regulation

The second part of the Bill contains technical provisions which allow the Scottish Ministers to modify or restate all or any of the EIA legislation or the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994. As both of these pieces of legislation originated from EU directives, this part of the Bill replaces the powers previously conferred by the European Communities Act 1972 and allows the Scottish Ministers to modify or restate the regulations or legislation for a limited set of purposes.

National Parks

The main change proposed in the third part of the Bill is a modernisation of the aims of National Parks, which are now summarised as follows:-

• The first aim is to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the National Park area.
• The second aim is to promote sustainable management and use of the area’s natural resources.
• The third aim is to promote public understanding and enjoyment of the area’s natural and cultural heritage,
• The fourth aim is to promote sustainable economic, social and cultural development of the area’s communities.

In addition to the changes to the aims of the National Parks, the Bill also aims to modernise the powers of National Parks authorities to align with the updated aims and also to take into account additional factors such as mitigating and adapting to climate change and supporting and facilitating recreational activities.

Deer Management

Lastly, the Bill implements the majority of the changes proposed by the DWG.

The Bill makes a number of amendments to the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 ("the 1996 Act") which is the principal piece of legislation regulating the management of deer in Scotland. The changes are generally technical in nature but primarily amend the powers of intervention which NatureScot already have in terms of the 1996 Act alongside a repeal of the requirements related to licensing to deal in venison.

Brodies will continue to monitor the progress of the Bill as it passes through the legislative process. Meantime, if you anticipate being impacted by any of the issues raised in this article please contact a member of the firm's Rural Business and Natural Capital team or your usual Brodies' contact.